I Like it Here
by BeneaththeWords
Summary: Sage was beginning to learn that listening to her thoughts wasn't such a bad thing, and neither was Sandy Shores.
1. I Like it Here

"I like it here." Sage said, matter of factly.

Her and Aubrey were propped up on the hood of Regina, Aubrey's trusty steed which was more or less a piece of junk with a coat of fading green paint over it, but it got them to the places they needed to go. They lay with their backs pressed up against the windshield and their legs dangling off of the edge, Aubrey's feet just barely brushing the sand beneath them.

Aubrey's lips pulled into a small smile, and she rolled her head to the side. "That's surprising, city girl."

Their gazes were set on the view of the desolate road in front of them and the expanse of desert behind it. It seemed to go on forever, the only evidence of its endpoint was where the setting sky bled into it so many miles away. Every now and again a car would drive by and a dust of sand would cling to it just as close as its shadow did.

"I didn't think I'd like the peace and quiet this much." Sage said softly. "Too much time to think has never been good for me."

Aubrey turned her head towards Sage and gave her a halfhearted smile. Sage returned it because she knew Aubrey understood exactly what she meant underneath that one statement.

"I've been starting to find it easier, though- at least out here." Sage seemed to be taking in the scenery around her as she scanned the sky. Stars were just barely visible then, but the moon was still nowhere to be seen. "I used to never understand how you could like being so isolated out here, but I think I get it now." Sage was starting to learn that being alone didn't mean that she ever truly was.

"You've been thinking on it a lot, haven't you?" Aubrey asked, but she already knew the answer.

"It's all I think about now. It changed everything between us, Aubs." Sage's voice held a desperation that could only convey a partial glimpse of her sad reality.

"Did you not hear him say he forgave you?"

Sage gave her an incredulous look. "Those words meant shit, Aubrey. Don't you see the way he acts around me, the way he _looks_ at me? He treats me like I'm a stranger to him when the only thing that was ever ungenuine was my name."

No words were exchanged for a few minutes and the pause wasn't awkward or tense, just empty. Sage could relate.

"I know we've never mentioned it out loud, but you and I both know that Michael and I- we had something good. We had something that was real." Sage's voice sounded on the verge of breaking and she took a moment before she went on. "No other man has ever treated me the way he has, with so much respect. I don't think he knows how much I appreciate that."

Aubrey let her go on, knowing just how much she needed to say what she'd bottled up for so long. At one point she grabbed Sage's hand and gave it a squeeze just to let her know she was listening.

"I know you can't change your past, Aubrey, I _know_ , but I can't help but think if only I was honest from the get-go. I was such a coward then." Sage snorted, but it was tinged with bitterness. "I've always been good at that shit- running from my problems. Y'know I'm here because he hates this place." There was a short pause before she went on, "And I guess because you're here, too, but that's besides the point." Sage said this quietly.

Aubrey cracked a smile. "I do see the way he looks at you, Sage, and I get it." Aubrey was now looking Sage in the eyes. "You need to know that he's only acting this way because he feels all of that, too. He just feels betrayed right now."

"I was always too caught up with worrying about screwing things up for us, that I don't think I've ever told him how much he means to me."

Despite how grim the conversation was, Aubrey couldn't help but let out a cackle. "He isn't dead, Sage. You can still tell him these things."

"Because it's not as if I haven't considered doing it a thousand times before." Sage said dryly, but a smirk was creeping its way up her face.

"Why don't you just do it then? I mean, what more do you have to lose now?"

Sage could hear the playfulness in Aubrey's voice, but she contemplated her words. "You might be right for once, y'know." Sage sat up now, pulling one of her knees to her chest and leaning her chin against her hand in thought.

Aubrey looked offended. "Excuse me, I am always right."

"Telling yourself that doesn't make it true." Sage, as always, was playing with fire at this point.

"Oh yeah? Well who was right when you were reading that map wrong- and who was right when you said sharks don't eat people, because I know of a kid who got eaten- and who was right when you we-"

"Okay, okay, you're right a lot of times, how about that?"

Aubrey gave her a look, but didn't protest further.

"Thank you for understanding, Aubrey. I mean it." Sage gave her a warm smile.

"I was hurt at first, but only because I wish you'd have told me sooner."

"I regret that more than I regret not telling Michael." Sage said seriously.

"You're my ride or die, Sage. You knew I couldn't stay mad at you." Aubrey gave her a knowing look.

"Did I really know that?" Sage asked, nothing but trouble in her tone.

Aubrey deadpanned. "You ruined the moment."

"I ruin everything." Sage stated simply.

"Yeah," Aubrey laughed, "You do."

Sage let out her first real one of the night at that. The air was becoming cooler, but it stayed dry as the moon finally appeared, full and bright and so far out of reach. Coyotes sang in the distance and the breeze swept their hair. Sage was sitting next to her best friend and hope was pouring back into her.

Yes, she liked it here.


	2. Pool Investment (or lack thereof)

**AN:** This is just another silly oneshot I wrote for mine and my friend's ocs to fulfill my love for these characters we've poured so much into. Feedback is lovely, as are questions regarding ours ocs!

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Sage didn't _really_ mind the drive to Sandy Shores, especially when it gave her an opportunity to be preoccupied with the wind whipping against her body rather than the worries bouncing inside her head. She often took the Great Ocean Highway up the coast of Los Santos until she hit Route 66 to take her into the desert; The road was a long expanse of palm trees and sparkling water that gradually faded into sparse bushes and fields of cacti the closer she drove inland. She always felt liberated driving so far from her tiny apartment in Little Seoul, as if she was once again escaping all of the corruption this sorry world had to offer.

It took her a while to admit it, but the more time she spent in the arid town in which Aubrey resided, the more her fondness for it grew. She liked how quiet it was in comparison to the city— It was a place she could actually hear her thoughts and she was starting to realize that that wasn't such a bad thing. The air was warm and dry that day as she hurried to Aubrey's home and she was pushing 80, trying to make it to the desert before sunset. She was promised a beer, a swim, and good company so Sage couldn't really complain if she was late to her meeting in the morning with Michael.

Sage was more than ready to cool off in a nice pool of water as she approached Sandy Shores, her shorts and tank top doing nothing to keep her cool despite the wind sweeping against her bare thighs as she pulled closer to her best friend's home. It was a little rough around the edges, much like Sage's apartment back in Los Santos, but it had character. Aubrey had painted the exterior a peachy tan and Sage had helped her pick out some hanging plants that would survive the difficult climate to give a little life to her rickety porch. You could say it was a bit of a fixer-upper, but they both saw the potential.

Sage turned down Aubrey's street, the sun a burnt orange above head with undertones of pink catching the Alamo Sea below on fire; That alone made the trip entirely worth it as Sage slowed her pace to enjoy the view before her. She was practically walking her bike the rest of the way towards Aubrey's, soaking up the last heat of the day and wondering if her times here were starting to give her a bit of a tan. She thought maybe the pool investment would help with that.

Aubrey's house was coming into sight and Sage could hear the low drones of Rebel Radio. She pulled up past her neighbor, Jewel, a self-proclaimed psychic who Sage could swear was a scam artist, but Aubrey promised she accurately predicted what their next mission was going to be. Sage called it conspiracy.

As Sage pulled up to Aubrey, she could see her head of blonde sticking up past her small picket fence and the closer she got the more she could see of what she was doing. She opened the visor on her helmet and tried to squint through the setting sun as she gave her kickstand shove. Swinging her leg over her bike, Sage pulled off her helmet completely and stepped closer to the edge of the fence, her face falling the minute she figured out just what Aubrey meant by swimming.

Sage couldn't even look disappointed as she fought to keep her eyes from rolling into the back of her head. "I really should come to expect this out of you, you know."

Clad in a yellow bikini that clashed with her sun kissed skin, Aubrey sat in a lime green kiddie pool, her long legs just barely fitting. Her arms were adorned with floaties as if she could possibly drown in the small puddle, a case of beers dunked in the bottom of it, and one already in her hand. The garden hose was slung over the edge, creating a stream of water that did look refreshing if it weren't being poured into a four by four foot circle.

Aubrey just had a pleased grin on her face, tipping her beer towards Sage in greeting.

"You're a little shit, you know that?" Sage asked, no real venom to her voice. "Making me drive all the way out here for this." She muttered, mostly to herself.

Aubrey's face dropped in mock offence. "What, you don't think this is relaxing?"

Sage sighed and stepped over the short fence, not bothering to unlatch it. She stripped herself of her shorts and tank top to reveal her black swimsuit and stepped into the small patch of grass that Aubrey had just barely got to grow.

"Scoot." Sage said, making to step into the pool when Aubrey halted her.

"Wait," She exclaimed, "Lift up your foot." Sage complied as she sprayed down her feet before she stepped in. "I don't need you contaminating my pool."

Sage snorted. "If you could call it that."

"I don't have to share my beer with you."

"Oh, after this display, you bet your ass you do." Sage laughed, sinking back into the cool water that barely covered her stomach and grabbing one from the case.

They stayed like that until the sun was just barely visible over the edge of the sand and in its place arrived one of the fullest moons Sage had ever witnessed. Their pack of beer was nearly gone now, the water keeping it chilled as they were now more than a bit tipsy.

"This pool," Sage drawled, tipping her head over the edge so she could see the stars and the grass prickling the back of her head, "Not a bad investment."

"Cheers to that." Aubrey replied, trying to take a sip from her empty bottle.


End file.
